It has previously been known to provide pneumatic tires with decorative sidewalls in various configurations. Raised letters or logos molded onto the sidewall of the tire have been commonplace. Additionally, for years it has been known to provide a decorative band about the sidewall of the tire and concentric with the axis thereof to provide "whitewall" tires. Such bands have often been provided by imbedding a laminate having a white elastomeric face within the sidewall of the tire which is later ground and buffed to expose the same. However, such a process is expensive and time consuming.
It has also been known in the art to bond a decorative applique to the tire sidewall. In some instances, the applique has been of an uncured or partially cured nature, applied to the tire within the tire mold and vulcanized thereto during the curing process. It is further known to provide such appliques in a cured state for subsequent adhesive attachment to the tire. While such processes have generally been acceptable from the standpoint of cost effectiveness and maintenance of tire integrity, improvements in the realm of processability, configuration resolution, and design availability are still needed. Indeed, the range of decorative features that may be added to the tires by means of molding or appliques has been quite restricted.
It has further been known in the art to provide informational material upon a tire by means of molding, :the adherence of appliques, branding, or the like. Such informational material has included serial numbers, manufacturer's codes, and indicia of ownership. Again, the apparatus and technique employed for imparting such information to the tire have generally been time consuming and costly in implementation. This is particularly true when the information is unique to each tire, requiring serial number or code changes from tire to tire during the manufacturing process.
In general, the prior art has taught that any alteration of a pneumatic tire beyond that of a simple "black wall" tire is a costly proposition and subject to limitations of the availability of information or decorations which may be applied. When "whitewalls" are formed by abrading and buffing, marred and scuffed surfaces may result, requiring that the tire be discarded. When such decorative or informational features are molded, they are often characterized by mold flashes or other markings. Further, none of the prior art techniques are given to allowing the customer to choose from a broad range of specific designs or configurations to particularly customize the tire either decoratively or informationally.
While the prior art and the inventive concepts are presented and discussed herein with respect to the manufacture of pneumatic tires, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the invention herein is applicable to a broad range of elastomeric products in which customization is desired.